Save Article

Director Pawel Pawlikowski on Oscar-Nominated ‘Ida’

The Polish director talks about awards season, his writing process and persuading an unknown student to take a starring role in his film

Updated Feb. 19, 2015 10:09 p.m. ET

PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI HAS a terrible cold, and it’s little wonder. The 57-year-old Polish director and screenwriter has for several months been traveling the world promoting “Ida,” his Oscar-nominated film centered around a young novice nun who was raised as an orphan in a Catholic convent and discovers, on the verge of taking her vows, that she comes from a Jewish family with a tragic past.

The work, released in late 2013, has already picked up several major awards—including the Bafta for Best Film Not in the English Language,...

RELATED VIDEO

Film Clip: 'Ida'

Watch a clip from the Polish film "Ida." In 1962, Anna is an orphan brought up by nuns who has to see Wanda, her only living relative, before she takes her vows. They then start a journey to find who they really are. (Photo/Video: Opus Films)